


Breakaway

by januarylily



Category: Twilight, Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 21:31:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17231549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/januarylily/pseuds/januarylily
Summary: Forks' Swan population was about to increase by one and I was pretty sure I was the only one who wasn't excited about that fact. People had a misconception that twins were always close, but I really didn't know my sister. It just wasn't the nature of our relationship. But apparently, fate had a different journey planned for us.





	1. An Attempt to Tip the Scales

Grew up in a small town and when the rain would fall down I'd just stare out my window. Dreaming of what could be and if I'd end up happy…I couldn't help but think that Kelly Clarkson's words were written about me as her song echoed through the overhead speakers. Especially now as I sat in the Port Angeles airport waiting to pick up my estranged twin sister Bella from her incoming Phoenix flight.

You see, when my parents split up, they decided to split everything down the middle, including my sister and I My mother took Bella and my father got stuck with me. The decision always struck me as odd. Most normal people kept siblings together. But not my parents. Although, I can't say that I really minded living with Dad. I had always been more of a daddy's girl anyway.

I glanced over my shoulder at my dad. He sat beside me nervously tapping his foot and wringing his hands. I was fairly certain that he was nervous because Bella wasn't just coming for a visit. No, she was coming to live with us permanently. Forks Swan population was about to increase by one and I was pretty sure I was the only one who wasn't excited about that fact.

Bella and I had never been particularly close. People had a misconception that twins were always close, but even in the early years when Bella and I had lived together, we never really bonded like most twins. We were as different as night and day, at least that's what I always thought. But then again, I really didn't know my sister. Odd, I know. But aside from a forced holiday reunion or a phone call orchestrated by one or both of our parents, Bella and I really didn't talk. It just wasn't the nature of our relationship. I wouldn't be surprised if someday down the road we were the Christmas card kind of relatives. You know, the kind that only exchange a Christmas card once a year and call it good.

But apparently, fate had a different journey planned for us.

My dad tapped my knee. "She's here," he said before he pointed across the room.

I just nodded my head. I'm pretty sure he was expecting a bigger reaction out of me because he repeated himself. "Bekah, your sister's here."

"I see that," I told him.

"Well, we should go say hello." With that, he was up and out of his seat, crossing the sea of ugly airport carpeting toward my sister.

I slowly followed behind my father, scrutinizing my sister's appearance as I drew closer. She had long brown hair like me and we were the same height. After that, I failed to recognize any more similarities and I focused on the differences. She had chocolate brown colored eyes compared to my blue ones. Her skin was paler than mine, which was odd. Especially considering she lived in an area of the country with more direct sunlight. I was fairly positive she had to actively avoid the sunlight in order not to get any color. Either that or she was a vampire or something.

I stopped in front of Bella and folded my arms across my chest. "Hey," she said weakly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Hey," was all I responded back to her.

To say things were awkward would have been a vast understatement, but I was thankful when Dad suggested that we go wait at the baggage carousel for Bella's bags. How pathetic was it that I would rather watch bags go round and round than talk with my sister? Fairly pathetic, I know. But it wasn't like an airport was a good place for a heart-to-heart conversation. Not that I really wanted one, but still, it wasn't the right place. Or at least, that's what I told myself.

Fifteen minutes later, with all of Bella's luggage in tow, we headed for Dad's police cruiser. I was the lucky one who got to sit in the back. At least no one had puked back there recently. So as Dad shoved Bella's things into the trunk, I grabbed my Walkman CD player from the front seat and settled into the back. I turned it on and pulled my headphones over my ears as Ashlee Simpson's Autobiography began to play.

Thankfully, listening to my CD player meant I didn't have to participate in my dad and Bella's awkward attempt at a conversation. Although, I kept the volume somewhat low so I could still hear what they were saying. Fine, I'll admit it: I was being nosy. But you would be too if your sister came waltzing back into your life and threatened to destroy everything you once knew. Not that their conversation was really all that interesting. It was about the truck my dad bought from Billy Black.

After what seemed like the longest hour of my life, the police cruiser pulled in front of our small house. It was only two bedrooms, which had been big enough when my parents were first married. But it was hardly enough space for a father with two teenage girls, who both needed their space. So, in order to make the transition easier, Dad had given up his bedroom and was going to relocate to the downstairs sofa. Although, I had a feeling that wasn't going to last long and I was going to be the one forced to move.

Once the car was in park, I quickly tried to escape the cruiser, but my dad managed to stop me. "Bekah, why don't you give your sister a hand with her things?"

While he had phrased his words in a question, I knew he wasn't asking. He was telling. I bit back a why don't you and slowly trudged to the trunk as Bella made her way back. She must have seen my displeasure at the situation because she bit her bottom lip nervously when she looked at me. After a few moments of silence, she timidly said, "Thanks." I just nodded my head as the trunk finally managed to pop.

I lifted the lid of the trunk before I grabbed her backpack and swung it over my shoulder, leaving Bella with the somewhat large and cumbersome suitcase. Hey, I was helping. Bella reached in and yanked on the suitcase. She pulled a little too hard which sent her flying backward. I couldn't help but smile as Bella crashed to the ground as the suitcase remained planted in the trunk.

"Bekah," my dad chided. I looked over my shoulder to find him standing there with his arms folded across his chest. He had certainly picked a terrible time to suddenly become a hardass about things. He had never been like this before, but I had a sinking feeling that when it came to Bella and me, this was going to be his first line of defense.

I turned back around and easily pulled the suitcase from the trunk as Bella struggled to get to her feet. "You're welcome," I said before I walked toward the house. Was I being a bit of a bitch? Sure. But Bella had to know her place if she was going to come waltzing into things. She might have been older, but it was my territory she was walking into-a finely tuned ecosystem that I didn't want her messing up.

Inside, I quickly raced upstairs and set Bella's backpack down in what used to be my room. All traces of me had been wiped from the room so that Bella could do with it as she pleased. Dad was really going out of his way to make Bella comfortable, even if it meant doing it at my expense.

Whump. Whump. Crash.

The sounds came from the stairs. I exited my old bedroom and walked to see that Bella had fallen down the stairs and her suitcase pinned her to the ground. I shook my head. I had forgotten just how clumsy my sister was. We had been home no more than five minutes and she had already taken two swan dives...pun intended.

Anticipating that my dad was going to call for me, I jogged down the stairs and came to her rescue. I pulled the suitcase from her before she moved into a sitting position. I raised an eyebrow at her. "You never outgrew that, huh?"

Bella shook her head. "You did, though," she said.

I mulled her statement over for a second before I chuckled sardonically. "I was never as clumsy as you. I just did it for the attention." Bella's brow furrowed at my words. I was somewhat surprised that she had never figured that out, but then again, maybe that shouldn't have surprised me. This was my sister we were talking about. I sighed. "Let's just get you upstairs before we need to get you a bubble."

Bella nodded and stood upright as I began to drag her suitcase up the stairs. How was it that I always managed to do things that I didn't want to? I should've just left her to drag her suitcase, but no. The decent side of me somehow won out over my stubbornness. I needed to work on that.

I left Bella alone in her room with her belongings before I headed back downstairs to put some distance between us. Through the front window, I saw an old beat-up Chevy pickup truck pull into the driveway beside Orville, my blue ninety-five Pontiac Grand Prix. I knew it was Billy Black dropping off Bella's new truck. I did a double-take, noticing someone in the passenger's seat. Squinting my eyes, I recognized that it was Jacob, Billy's son and a friend of mine. Although the term friend was applied rather loosely. If I ever went to LaPush with my dad, I usually got stuck hanging out with Jacob. Beyond that, we didn't ever hang out or talk. Sadly though, I was pretty sure I had a better relationship with Jacob than I did my own sister.

I walked outside to see my father helping Billy out of the truck and into his wheelchair. Jacob jumped out of the truck and walked to where I had planted myself on the front lawn. "Well, well, look who it is," I said as I rubbed my arms from the chill in the breeze. "If it isn't Jacob Black."

"And if my eyes aren't deceiving me, it's Bekah Swan," he teased back. We always had this unexplained back and forth banter thing that neither of us really understood, but we both went with it.

I smiled. "The one and only."

"That you know of."

I rolled my eyes. "You shouldn't argue with your elders." My words were said both in truth and in jest. Sometimes the little over two year age gap seemed substantial and other days it was insignificant. But it was hardly ever consistent.

Jacob shook his head as a smile played across his face. He knew that I was messing with him. But instead of continuing our banter, he changed the subject. "So, where's Bella?" he asked.

Just then, Bella walked out of the front door. I nodded in her direction and he immediately left my side for hers. Jacob had always been enamored by Bella. Not that I cared. Really, I didn't. Although, I found it rather ridiculous how fond he was of her despite not really knowing her. It wasn't like she was anything special.

I was about to head back into the house when my dad called out to me, "Bekah, aren't you gonna say hey to Billy?"

Nodding my head, I quickly turned on my heel and walked past Bella and Jacob toward Billy and my dad. I stopped beside my dad and smiled at Billy. "Hey," I said genuinely.

"Hello, Rebekah," Billy responded.

"It's Bekah, actually."

He chuckled. "Sorry. Force of habit." Billy had a daughter named Rebecca, who spelled her name differently than I did. Rebecca Black also had a twin sister named Rachel. I smiled fondly remembering some of the many times I had played with the Rachel, Rebecca, and Jacob. The four of us usually had gotten along quite well. Then again, the times that we hadn't were a little more memorable.

"Hey, you want to come in?" Dad asked Billy. "I'm sure there's got to be a game on one of those channels." Billy nodded his head and my dad quickly swung around to push his wheelchair. "Besides, it will give those two a chance to catch up." He nodded toward Bella and Jacob who were now sitting in the truck talking.

I shook my head and followed them inside. It was either that or watch Jacob drool over my sister. The choice wasn't that hard. Once the men were situated in the living room, I walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. I had just grabbed a glass from the cupboard when Dad called, "Hey Bekah? Why don't you call and order a pizza or two?"

"Delivery or carryout?" I asked turning the tap on and filling my glass.

"Delivery. And get some of those breadsticks too."

"Ok!" I took a sip of water before I crossed the kitchen to where the old corded phone hung on the wall. I picked up the phone and ordered a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, and some breadsticks from the only place in down that delivered. I then headed to the living room to watch the college basketball game on TV with my dad and Billy.

Jacob and Bella eventually came inside. Jacob joined us watching the game while Bella headed upstairs. I scoffed to myself. Bella had only been here a couple hours and already she was isolating herself. I could already tell that I was going to hate having her here, but I wouldn't know exactly how much until later.


	2. Winds of Change

I dragged my sorry ass out of bed the next morning to go for a jog in the rain before school. Jogging had always been my time to think and clear my head and right now I had a lot to think about. With my sister coming in and changing everything I had a feeling I was going to be jogging a lot more than I was accustomed to. As I jogged around the neighborhood, I examined all the familiar places I had grown up with. Mrs. Kaplan waved at me as she took her dog out for his morning poo. I waved back. Forks wasn't a very large place. Everyone knew everyone. That's just how it was.

When I got back home, I found Bella hogging the bathroom. I pounded hard on the door. "Hurry up. I need to shower," I hissed. Bella opened the door and stared at me rather blankly. I motioned that I needed to get in the bathroom, but I didn't wait for her to respond. Instead, I just slipped by her and she must have got the hint to leave because the door closed behind her.

I was about halfway through my shower when there was a banging at the door. I ignored it at first until my dad yelled, "Bekah, hurry up. I made breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," I shouted back as I lathered the soap in my hair.

"It's Bella's first day. I made a special breakfast."

"You never make me special breakfasts," I shot back, poking my head outside the shower curtain while the water ran down my back.

After a few seconds of silence, he responded, "Sure I do."

I roll my eyes and let the water splash against my face. "Special K doesn't count as a special breakfast!"

Again, my dad responded in silence. I almost thought I had gotten away with it, but he eventually said, "Bekah, you have five minutes before I shut the water off to the house and don't think I won't do it because I will." Apparently, he meant business. The thought seemed absolutely ridiculous. Leave it to my sister showing up for my father to become a hardass.

When I finally got downstairs, my dad and Bella were sitting at the kitchen table. I frowned when I saw Bella sitting in my usual seat, but I said nothing. Instead, I just sat down on another chair, but I wiggled around in it so that my father knew that it was broken. Was it childish? Sure. But now that my sister was here, it was probably going to be my only way to get any attention.

I was surprised when my dad didn't say anything. Instead, he plopped two pancakes down on my plate. For a moment, I stared at the food in front of me. He knew that I hated pancakes. I don't know why I don't like them. I just don't. I much prefer French Toast. Every time we go out for breakfast, I always order French Toast. I never get pancakes. Never. I watched as Bella stabbed her pancakes before I clear my throat. "I-uh-I forgot that I promised Jess that I'd meet her before school to get some coffee," I lied, trying to come up with an excuse to not eat the pancakes.

Dad looked at me rather suspiciously. It was one con of living with a law enforcement official-he always brought some aspect of work home. "What about showing Bella around on her first day?"

I glanced at my sister and sighed. Thankfully, Bella actually responded before I was forced to. "I'll be fine," she said. "You can't really miss the high school, right?"

"Right," I agreed, nodding my head, probably a bit too enthusiastically. "See? Bella says she'll be fine, Dad. Who are we to argue with her?"

Dad looked at me and then at Bella. He sighed, "Tell Jessica I say hi." At least Bella hadn't completely ruined everything I had going with my dad.

I glanced at him and smiled. "You know I won't." With that, I stood up and headed for the front door. I quickly slipped on my mint green polka dot rain boots and pulled the hood up on my sweatshirt before I grabbed my backpack and quickly bolted out the front door for Orville. I had a feeling my 95 Pontiac Grand Prix was going to be the most reliable thing in my life now that Bella was here. It got me from point a to point b and it almost always did what I told it. Couldn't really ask for more.

I stopped at Forks Coffee Shop because knowing my dad, he would ask around to see if I had actually gone there. Thankfully, I knew Jess went there every morning, so when he asked the barista if he had seen me this morning with Jess she would answer yes, thus keeping me from getting in any trouble. I easily spotted Jess at a table with Lauren Mallory. As annoying as Jess could be, I didn't doubt her loyalty. On the other hand, I knew Lauren just used me and had no real attachment to me beyond my popularity.

"OMG! Bekah! Over here!" Jess called from one of the tables with her disposable coffee cup in one hand and the other one waving Bekah over. I pulled the hood down on my sweatshirt before I nodded and walked over to her. "Bex, why didn't you bring Isabella with you?"

"Because I'm not my sister's keeper, Jess," I responded rather grumpily.

"Whoa! Down girl. Retract those claws."

I shifted my stance and folded my arms across my chest. "You know Bella and I don't get along, Jess." Having personal conversations with Jess in front of Lauren was never my favorite thing to do, but there was no going back now.

Jess looked at me unsure of how best to handle the tension. "Just go get your drink and come join us."

I sighed and nodded my head, running my fingers through my hair. As I walked up to the counter, I heard an OMG from Lauren. It was pretty obviously she was talking about me with Jess. I decided to shrug it off because it certainly wasn't the first time it had happened. But if worse came to worse, I knew Jess would side with me because that's what she had always done in the past. Jess and I had been best friends for as long as I could remember. Probably even before then. Lauren didn't start hanging around until eighth grade. But I digress.

I ordered a vanilla chai latte and a slice of pumpkin bread before I went and sat at the table with Jess and Lauren. "Is Ang coming this morning?" I asked. Angela was another member of our group. I liked her much better than I did Lauren.

"No," Lauren responded before taking a sip of her coffee.

I held back a retort. Typical Lauren. One word responses somewhat snidely to anything I asked or said. Sometimes I just wanted to ditch the girl, but she always found a way to weasel her way back into things. But from what I was told by the guidance counselor, this was fairly normal teenage girl kind of stuff.

The barista came with my drink and pumpkin bread. I thanked her and then took a sip of my drink. Lauren took one glance at me with my drink and said, "We should probably get to school." It was obviously a power play.

This time I did roll my eyes before I glanced at my watch. "We have time yet," I commented. "But you're more than welcome to go if you'd like." Lauren and I made eye contact for a brief moment before Lauren looked at Jess for support. She should have known better.

"Let's at least let Bekah eat," Jess said somewhat timidly before she took a sip of her coffee.

From across the table, I smirked at Lauren. She should have known better than to use my best friend against me. Lauren clearly wasn't pleased with the outcome of the situation, but she stubbornly stayed put. I had a feeling it was mostly because she didn't want to do something I had suggested.

When I had finished eating, we left the coffee shop and headed for school. On the highway, I could see Bella's truck behind me in my rearview mirror. I knew it was expected of me to help her in some way, shape, or form. Especially since I was part of the school's mentor program. Although, that typically that meant helping freshman because new students, especially in the middle of the year were rare. But of course, Bella had to be the exception to the rule.

I sighed. I wasn't normally this petty, but Bella seemed to always bring out the worst in me. I pulled into a parking spot and waited for my sister to do the same. I watched as she parked right in front of the office before I escaped from my car and made a mad dash toward her. She looked startled to see me running toward her, but she stopped. "You can't park there, you know," I said rather matter-of-factly.

"I figured," Bella responded.

I pulled by hood a little tighter to my face. "Then why did you park there?" I probably sounded far bitchier than I meant to, but it didn't make sense to park there if she knew not to park there. She stared at me, blinking slowly for a moment. I sighed. "Never mind," I groaned. I then pointed at the office building. "Go in there and Mrs. Anderson should get you all started. Dad already registered you, so I'm guessing you shouldn't be in there too long."

"I-uh-thanks," my sister responded, shoving her hands into her black sweatshirt, nodding her head.

For a moment, I noticed just how different we looked. My outfit was much more cheerful-a yellow hooded sweatshirt, light jeans, and the rain boots. She was dressed nearly in all black, aside from the really dark blue jeans. It somewhat amused me how even our sense of fashion showed just how different we were.

I licked my lips and adjusted the straps on my backpack. "Well, this is where I'll leave you then. I'll probably see you at lunch. Juniors and Seniors have the same lunch period." Bella nodded her head once more. I turned to walk away before I suddenly stopped and looked at my sister over my shoulder. "If you could tell Dad that I helped you please, it would make things easier for the both of us. Okay?"

I didn't wait for her to respond before I continued to walk away, toward Jess who was waiting for me under one of the overhangs with Lauren. "Was that Isabella?" Lauren asked the moment I got under the overhang. I rolled my eyes and looked at Jess, who appeared rather interested in the answer, but from our earlier conversation she knew not to ask.

"It was," I said shaking some of the rain off. "She's looking for a friend, you know." Lauren looked at me rather shocked, but I knew that it was only a matter of time before she tried to mooch off Bella's new popularity as the new girl. Jess looked between Lauren and I with a hesitant expression I just smiled before I walked inside to find my boyfriend at my locker where he usually met me.

Just as I suspected, Mike Newton stood, waiting by my locker. We had been an item since he had asked me to homecoming in the fall. For years, people had anticipated us becoming a couple and quite a few were surprised it took us until junior year to finally get together. But we were together now and that was all that mattered. Mike greeted her with a peck on the lips. "Hey, babe," he said.

I blushed a little, knowing Jessica and Lauren were behind me. I tucked my hair behind my ear before I mumbled, "Hey." Still holding onto me, he chuckled into my ear. Clearly, my embarrassment amused him. I chuckled as his amusement before I playfully pushed him away so I could get to my locker.

I opened my locker and Mike leaned against the one next to mine, staring at me. Jess leaned against my locker door while Lauren walked over and stood beside Mike. Almost a little too close. She had been trying to steal him away ever since Mike and I started dating. Lauren had expected Mike to ask her to homecoming and when he asked me instead, she didn't speak to me for two weeks. Not that I actually minded.

"So, where's Isabella?" Mike asked as I dropped my Pre-Calc book in my locker.

I threw my head back and groaned. "Is that all everybody's gonna talk about today?"

Mike's brow furrowed. "What? What did I say?" Lauren rolled her eyes.

Jessica poked her head over my shoulder, glancing at Mike. "You mentioned the s-i-s-t-e-r," Jessica said.

"C'mon, babe," Mike chuckled as he placed a hand on my arm. "Everyone is talking about her."

I shrugged his hand off. "Not me."

"Babe."

I sighed and looked at him. He wore a puppy dog expression with those baby blue eyes that he knew I couldn't resist. I sighed once more. "Last I saw her, I directed her to the office to get her schedule and stuff. Happy?"

"Yup." The five-minute bell rang and I slammed my locker shut. I reached out and weaved my fingers through Mike's fingers and headed on our way to our first-period classes.

The morning seemed to drag on as whispers about Bella sieged the school. It seemed like no matter what class I went to, there was always somebody that just had to ask me about Bella. To make matters worse, I had my second period Government class with her. I was glad when lunch finally rolled around, but Eric invited Bella to our table. She sat down beside me, like she had done second period. I put on a fake smile before I leaned over and whispered something to Jess. Mike approached the table and looked at Bella curiously. Probably partly because she was new and partly because she had taken his spot.

"You can sit here, Mike," Lauren said scooting over a bit. Mike shrugged his shoulders and sat beside her. Obviously, he didn't see what she was trying to do. But I knew that Mike wasn't interested in Lauren. Or at least that was what he had told me.

I dipped my grilled cheese into my tomato soup and took a bite. I was surprised when Bella scooted closer to me and leaned in. She didn't seem to notice my shock. Instead, she whispered, "Who are they?"

I glanced in the direction she had been looking. The Cullens. The family of kids Dr. and Mrs. Cullen had taken in. They always traveled everywhere together and they never joined in with anyone else. Yes, of course, Bella would take notice of them. I sighed. "The Cullens," I responded somewhat bitterly before Jessica immediately took over for me. And suddenly, it seemed like everyone's attention was on Bella...leaving me to just sit there.

As I sat there, I couldn't help but feel everything was changing. On the outside, my life seemed perfect. I just never would have guessed that my sister and the Cullens would ruin everything.


	3. You Can't Always Get What You Want

After lunch, I walked to Biology II with Mike. We held hands as we walked to class and for a moment, everything seemed to be normal again. But normal stopped once Mike and I found our usual lab table and Bella walked in. Then everyone started to whisper about her. It was annoying. I'll admit it, I was jealous. I was used to being the center of attention and suddenly. I had been for years and to suddenly lose that attention wasn't easy. Even Mike leaned over and whispered to one of his buddies about Bella.

I was glad when Mr. Banner started class without fussing much over Bella. He gave Bella her book and told her to find a seat. I watched as she took the only seat available, which was the one beside Edward Cullen. I watched a tense exchange between Edward and Bella. He didn't seem too happy about the fact that Bella had to sit by him. Well, maybe there was one person on the planet besides me who wasn't happy about Bella being here. Sadly, that person was Edward Cullen...and that almost made me rethink my view on the matter.

I was drawn back to reality by Mike resting his hand on my knee when Mr. Banner began his lecture on cellular anatomy. I glanced at him and he smiled at me. "What?" I whispered.

"Nothing," he quickly responded.

"What?" I repeated, knowing that he wanted something. I knew him well enough to know things like that.

"Do you think Bella has P.E. with us next period?" he asked.

I tensed up for a moment. Of course, he has a question about Bella. Here I was thinking that maybe he wanted to talk about making out in my car after school or going somewhere. But no, his thoughts are about Bella. I tried not to be jealous. I really did. But it didn't work. I responded, "All juniors have PE next period, Mike." My voice was rather cold and my response made his question seem stupid.

His head jerked back before he seemed to ponder my words for a moment. "Oh yeah, that's right," he finally said.

I sighed before I repositioned my notebook and grabbed my pen. "I'm trying to pay attention," I told him. It was a lie. I didn't really want to pay attention, but it was the nicest way I could get rid of him. Mike nodded his head and removed his hand from my knee. My knee felt cold without the warmth of his hand. I felt bad but didn't. Today was just a crappy day. I needed to learn to deal better with the Bella situation. But today, was definitely not that day.

After class, Mike approached Bella and asked if she wanted to walk to class with Mike and I. I tried not to act annoyed, but I wasn't very good at masking my displeasure. Although, I think Bella realized that I was annoyed and she tried her best to get away, but Mike just wouldn't let her because he kept talking to her.

He told her about when he moved to Forks from California. He asked her if she missed the sun. Bella nodded her head and Mike went on this long rant about never seeing the sun here and how he missed the warmth of the sun and how things just seemed super depressing without it. Mike seemed to forget I was even with them. The final straw for me was when Mike began to ask her about Edward Cullen. After that, I simply walked away and stomped my way to the girls locker room. It was more for Mike's benefit to know that he was in the doghouse than it was for Bella.

I was attempting the combination to the lock to my locker when Bella approached me. "Bekah, I'm so sorry. I tried to get away. I really did," Bella apologized.

I sighed and pulled down on the lock, opening it. I couldn't really fault her for what Mike had done. Had she made my day miserable so far? Yes. But if I thought about it rationally, it wasn't really her fault...despite wanting it to be hers. I sighed again. "Yeah, I know. I saw you trying to escape, but Mike just kept talking your ear off."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief and her expression seemed to lighten. "I really don't want to mess things up for you, Bekah."

"You kinda already have," I responded. I saw her expression sadden and I mentally kicked myself. There really was no reason for me to be such a bitch. So, I should probably at least try acting nicely toward her. I inhaled a deep breath before I said, "But thanks for trying. It does count for something."

"Thanks," Bella said, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "So, I gotta ask...is he your boyfriend?"

I chuckled. "Yeah," I responded.

She smiled and nodded her head. "He seems...nice."

"He is. Not bad kisser either." I smirked at my sister and she laughed. "I really should get changed. You should go see Coach Clapp about getting you a uniform. She should be in her office." I pointed toward the office door and Bella nodded. I then changed into my PE uniform, threw my hair up in a messy bun, and headed to the gym.

I was definitely in my element when I walked into the gym. We were doing a volleyball unit and I felt like a queen because I was Forks High School varsity volleyball teams' star player. I played setter and I had even made All-State for our division. I saw Jessica sitting on the bleachers and I took a seat beside her. She nudged me and smiled. "Ready to kick some a-s-s?" Jess asked me.

I smiled and nodded my head in return. Jess had played varsity with me and was pretty good too. I looped my arm through Jess's and rested my head on her shoulder as we waited for Coach Clapp to come out of the locker room. When Coach finally entered the gym, she was followed by Bella, who was still dressed in her street clothes.

Coach stopped in front of the bleachers full of juniors and told Bella to take a seat. For a moment, Bella looked panicked over having to find a spot, but I found it in me to wave her over and take a seat beside me. She did. "Thank you," she whispered to me.

"Yep," I responded before I asked, "Why aren't you changed?"

"Coach said I didn't have to change today," Bella responded with a shrug.

"We're playing volleyball today, so it's not so bad," Jess said leaning over me.

"It's probably for the best then," Bella said. "I suck at volleyball. You wouldn't believe how many injuries I've inflicted on myself and others from volleyball."

Jess chuckled. "I'm sure you're not that bad. I mean, you're related to Bex and she's like All-State."

Bella arched an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"It means, she's really good. Don't you know that?"

I winced. I knew that Jess hadn't meant her words to sound so accusatory and yet, I could tell that they had pierced Bella. "Looks like there's a lot of things she hasn't told me," Bella muttered to herself.

"You never asked," I whispered to myself, I hadn't meant for her to hear my words but judging by the expression on her face, she did. I kinda felt bad, but I didn't have long to dwell on it because Coach separated us into our teams. Somehow the three girls from the junior class on varsity all ended up on the same team. You'd think a teacher would spread the wealth around but no.

Mike ended up on my team. As did Tyler Crowley which did not go unnoticed by Lauren. That would be my luck. Not only was I dealing with Bella drama, but I had Lauren drama on top of it. And Lauren had to be a bitch about it. She complained and whined as we walked out onto the court. I overheard her telling one of her teammates that I had picked Mike and Tyler on purpose just to spite her, but that was just stupid because Coach Clapp had picked the teams.

I glanced over at Jess, who had heard the same thing. She rolled her eyes and got into a receiving position. The other team had the serve first. I was playing setter, a position I was all-too-familiar with.

"Get Bex the second hit," Jess called.

I glanced at Mike behind me, who nodded his head. He had helped me practice countless times, so he knew. I looked beyond him and saw my sister. She just sat there on the bench and gave me a thumbs up. I gave my sister a half-smile before I got my head in the game. Lauren served the ball, but it didn't go over the next. Point for us.

We rotated. I was up for the serve. I pounded the ball against the floor a couple times before I held the ball up to serve. I glanced at the other team, figuring out where I wanted to send the ball. I smirked. Lauren was too busy trying to get the boys' attention, by posing at angles that accentuated her femininity. Target acquired. I had to get my aggression out somehow.

I tossed the ball and then smacked it as hard as I could. I sent the ball hurtling right toward Lauren. While I hadn't aimed for her face, that was exactly where it hit. Lauren screamed as she fell to the floor. I covered my hand with my mouth to keep from laughing at the scene of Lauren writhing on the floor holding her face while blood gushed from her nose. Even Jess turned away, looking at me, trying not to smile. Mike shook his head, having been on the receiving end of one of my serves several times.

The game came to a halt as Lauren's team flocked around her. Coach Clapp jogged over. "What happened?" she asked.

"Lauren tried to receive my serve with her face," I told her.

That made the kids on the court start to laugh. But it only made Lauren angry.

"She did it on purpose," Lauren sneered as she slowly stood, still clutching her face.

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. "I didn't aim for your face. You? Yes-you weren't paying attention. Why waste a perfectly good opportunity? As far as aiming for your face-no. You literally stepped into it with your face."

Lauren's eyes narrowed at me, but that must have caused her pain because she released a small scream. Coach shook her head, "Go get some ice for your face, Miss Mallory, and Miss Swan, save your power serve for the weekend league."

"Yes, Coach," I responded. Lauren walked out the gym, not looking very happy with the outcome. Our game then resumed. With every play, I could feel my pent-up aggression lessening. Volleyball was one of my forms of stress-relief. Jess and I led our team to victory-not that it was much of a match-up. But it was still a sweet victory nonetheless.

We were finally excused to change, but we had to wait in the locker room until the final bell rang. The coach in the boys' locker room always let them go early. I knew that because Mike was always waiting for me outside the girls locker room door. Today was no different. The bad thing about Mike was that I couldn't stay mad at him for very long. I just couldn't. And sometimes, that really sucked.

Bella walked beside me, juggling paperwork in her arms. She told me that she was taking it to the office after school. I told her that I would see her at home as I reached for Mike's hand. I didn't tell her what I was going to be doing. I figured I'd spare her the details that I was most likely going to be making out with Mike in my car. I also made sure to quickly drag Mike away, before he could invite her with us.

When Mike and I were...finished, I drove home. Bella's truck was in the driveway as was my dad's cruiser. I frowned. He was never home this early. Although, I should have known that he'd make an effort for Bella's sake. As I made the walk from my car to the house, I pushed the jealousy down...burying it deep, deep down. I opened the door to find my dad sitting on the couch. "Bekah, what took you so long? Bella's been home for a while."

"I was with Mike, Dad," I told him.

His brow furrowed. "What were you doing with Mike?"

"Making out," I retorted as I dropped my backpack to the floor.

"That's all?" he questioned. "No funny business?"

"Oh, Dad-ew. We were in the high school parking lot."

"Back in my day…"

"Dad," I groaned. "Mike knows that you know where he lives, that you own a gun and you aren't afraid to use it. Not to mention that you know to stage a crime scene to make it look like an accident. You've told him these things several times. I'm pretty sure you've thoroughly scared him. Mission accomplished."

"So, that's a no?"

"A big fat no."

He seemed rather pleased with himself. I rolled my eyes as I walked to the kitchen to get a snack when my dad called, "Don't eat anything. We're going to Carver's."

I rolled my eyes. "When?" I called.

"Now, if you and Bella are both ready."

"We are." I then walked to the stairs and called up to my sister. "Bella, let's go. I'm starving!" Bella called back that she was coming. A few minutes later, we were in Dad's cruiser. Bella offered to sit in the back and I let her sit there. Although I had a feeling Dad was gonna make me ride back there on our return trip.

I thought the gawking at school was bad enough, the gawking in the restaurant was even worse. Cora, their waitress made comments while she delivered their food. The men eating at the counter flashed smiles. I wasn't sure why Bella had this kind of effect on people. I wasn't sure what was so special about Bella Swan. But I tried to focus my jealousy on eating my food.

After we were done eating, several more awkward encounters with townsfolk approaching Bella. Thankfully, Dad didn't keep us there too much longer, so we were free to return to the confines of our home. Just as I predicted, Dad made me ride in the back of the cruiser on the way home. I felt trapped back there-like I was in a prison.

When we got home, I walked up to my bedroom and flung myself on my bed. I lay there for a few moments, wishing things would go back to normal, but knowing that somehow things would never be normal again. So, I picked myself up and went downstairs to grab my backpack before returning to my room, to work on my homework. When I was finished, I texted Mike to tell him that I was too tired to talk that night. I then crawled into bed and closed my eyes, feeling sleep beginning to overtake me, hoping that at least in my dreams, things could be normal.


	4. The Trick is to Keep Breathing

The next morning I woke up to find that I had missed texts from Jessica and Mike. Mike had texted me like every hour until 3 a.m. when he finally got the hint and texted me: YOU MUST BE SLEEPING. I shook my head. No shit, Sherlock. What else would I be doing at night? There was also a text from my mom: HOW'S BELLA DOING? I groaned as I scrolled through the texts from my mom. There were probably 20 texts from her that I hadn't responded to. Most of them had some sort of mention of Bella. BE NICE TO BELLA. or GIVE BELLA A BIG HUG FOR ME. It was obvious who my mother's favorite was. Clearly, I had made a good choice to live with my dad.

I somehow managed to roll out of my bed, although, that didn't do anything to help the killer wedgie I had from my pajama shorts. When I fixed that problem, I walked to the bathroom, stubbing my toe on one of Bella's sneakers which she had left in the hallway. I muttered an obscenity under my breath before hobbling to the bathroom medicine cabinet. The only band-aids I had were Barbie ones, which I had received as a gag gift. So, I picked the least embarrassing Barbie band-aid and wrapped it around my bleeding toe. This morning was starting off just splendidly. Not.

I was just about to close the bathroom door to get ready for the day when Bella suddenly appeared in the doorway and nearly gave me a freaking heart attack. "Jesus Christ," I hissed, placing my hand over the place where my heart would be. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry," Bella mumbled. I gave a stiff nod of my head, but she didn't go away. So, I gave her a look asking her what she wanted. At least Bella hadn't forgotten how to read my pissed-off facial expressions. "I-uh-I was wondering if you could tell me about the Cullens."

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. "I thought Jess filled you in yesterday at lunch."

Bella chewed her bottom lip. "Well, I mean mainly Edward. What do you know about him?"

"Why? You like him?" I shook my head. "You know what? Totally doesn't surprise me. You would go for someone like him."

Bella frowned. "No. I'm just asking because he was kind of a jerk yesterday. I don't like him. I don't like anyone right now. I'm just trying to survive."

"Huh," I said. "Well, Edward's probably the most elusive of the Cullen clan, not that I've ever really tried to get to know him. He sticks mostly to his family. He's kind of a creep though. I've caught him staring a time or two."

"He wanted to switch out of biology."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Everyone wants to switch out of biology, Bella, but it's a graduation requirement. All they're doing is delaying the inevitable. Honestly, I wouldn't read too much into it, especially since it's Creepy Cullen."

"Oh."

"Is that all?" I asked. Bella nodded her head and turned to walk away.

I slammed the bathroom door shut and sat down on the toilet. I felt so frustrated. I honest to god was not trying to be a witch with a b to my sister. She just brought out the absolute worst in me. I knew I should try to be nicer to her, but I hated it. All everyone was concerned about was Bella. Bella this. Bella that. I just wanted things to go back to the way they were when at least some people cared about me. I brushed away a few tears before they spilled down my cheeks.

When I got downstairs Bella and my dad were gone. I was okay with that. I was okay being on my own...at least here at home. I quickly grabbed a package chocolate chip Pop Tarts from the pantry and then headed to my car. I opened the door to see that the overhead light had been left on. "No. No. No," I muttered to myself as I plopped on my seat. "Please, please, please," I continued as I put my key in the ignition. But no dice.

"Dammit," I hissed hitting the wheel. I hit it just right that my horn started to blare continuously. "Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop." I hit the horn every time I shouted stop. Thankfully, after about ten times, the horn stopped. But that didn't stop Mrs. Anderson from poking her head out her front door. I forced a smile on my face and waved at her. She didn't look happy. I got out of my car and shouted, "Sorry!" She still didn't look happy after my apology but she went back to her house.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Mike. It rang and rang before finally going to voicemail. I hung up and looked at the time on my phone. There was no way he was in class yet. So, I texted him my situation hoping that he would respond. I waited a couple minutes before I moved onto Jess. Her phone went right to voicemail"

Jess started... "This is Jess. Clearly, I'm not available."

"Because she's too busy hanging out with me!" My voice echoed in the background.

"Yeah, sure."

"Or she's drooling over the men of One Tree Hill."

"Bekah! Ugh. Just leave me a message and I'll get back to you."

"No, she won't!"

"Yes, I will. Bye."

I couldn't help but smile. We made that freshman year and the fact that Jess still had it as her voicemail message amused me. But that didn't help my car troubles. Seeing that Mike still hadn't called or texted me back, I called the station. Eventually, I was put through to my dad.

"Yeah-lo," my dad answered. Typical greeting from him, a mix of yeah and hello.

"Dad, my car won't start," I told him.

"What do you mean it won't start."

"The light was left on and now it won't start."

"You need a jump."

I rolled my eyes. He had only taught me everything he knew about cars already. It was a good thing he couldn't see me. Otherwise, I probably would have gotten scolded for having attitude. "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm calling you."

There was a brief pause. I could hear him shuffling through papers before he finally responded, "Bekah, I gotta be in court pretty quick here."

"Daaaad."

"Ask Bella to give you a ride. It won't kill you."

My brow furrowed. "I would, but she's not here. She's already at school." I didn't tell him that I hadn't tried calling her. I just hoped he wouldn't see through that hole in logic. He had plenty on his mind, so he might just miss it.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

There was a long pause. I counted to ten in my head before my dad groaned. "I'll call the school and let them know you're going to be late."

"Thank you."

"I can't make any promises that it will be soon, Bekah. But I'll see what I can do." I heard someone in the background shout for my dad. He quickly said goodbye and hung up the phone.

I walked back into the house and plopped down on the couch in front of the TV to wait. I surfed the television channels and found nothing I wanted to watch. There was nothing good on in the morning. Sometimes it felt more like a punishment to be sick or stuck at home on a weekday because of the lack of anything interesting on TV. The only thing I ever liked watching when I was sick was The Price is Right, but that wasn't on until 10:00. So, I turned the TV off because I wasn't much of a news person.

Remembering the Pop Tarts I had yet to eat, I walked to the kitchen and put them in the toaster. They were always better warmed up and with a glass of milk. Honestly, it felt a relief to not have to be at school. A thought crossed my mind. Maybe I should ask to be homeschooled...at least until this Bella thing settled down. I was totally motivated enough to do that. But I had a feeling my dad would never go with that.

After a few minutes snuggled up on the couch with a blanket and a book, the doorbell rang. I hesitated. No one was usually home at this time. What if it was one of those Bible thumpers coming to save me? Or maybe a serial killer coming to murder me. So, I just sat there, waiting to see if they'd ring the doorbell again. Nope. So, I went back to reading my book. A few minutes later, I saw the shrubbery outside the window move. I looked and saw a face in the window which caused me to scream bloody murder.

Jacob Black.

Stupid. Jacob. Freaking. Black.

What the heck was he doing here?

His reaction to my reaction was to laugh his ass off. I frowned and walked over to the window, throwing it open. I couldn't say anything because he was too busy laughing. "That. Was. Great," Jacob wheezed between laughs.

I folded my arms across my chest. "Are you done?"

"I didn't know you scared so easily," he laughed, wiping a few tears from his eyes.

I sighed in exasperation. "What are you doing here, Jacob?"

"I heard your car needed a jump and you didn't answer the door." He smirked at me. "Have you been watching too much Criminal Minds again?"

I scrunched my face and he laughed again. I waited for him to stop. "Did my dad call you?"

Jake shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, technically, he called my dad."

"Smart ass," I muttered.

He smiled and bounced on his toes. "Can I get your keys? Or are you punishing me."

I pursed my lips. "I'm thinking." He shook his head. I pulled my keys from my sweatshirt pocket and then tossed them at him. "No mocking me for the state of my car though."

He easily caught them and smiled. "Dad always says it's a fact of life that the prettier the girl, the messier the car." I blushed. When he realized what he was implying, he blushed too. "I-uh, I'm just gonna go...your car…" He quickly ran away toward my car.

I didn't want to go help him, but I knew that I probably should. I would never hear the end of it from my dad if I didn't help him. So, I hastily threw my shoes on and stumbled outside to help Jacob. When I got outside, I was shocked to find Jacob standing by my car fending off Mike. My eyes widened. My brain couldn't process seeing Mike and Jacob at the same time. But I quickly ran over to them.

"What's going on here?" I asked, with my hands in my pockets.

"This kid here was trying to steal your car," Mike argued.

"I'm not a kid," Jacob said through gritted teeth.

"He's here to fix my car," I added, looking up at Mike as I rested my hand on his arm. That seemed to settle Mike down a little.

"You called him?" Mike asked. There was some emotion in his voice I didn't quite recognize.

"Well, technically, my dad called his dad," I offered. "But if I would have known you were coming, I wouldn't have called my dad."

Mike shoved his hands in his letterman's jacket pockets. "You didn't text me back last night. So…" He couldn't bring himself to finish his thought.

I rested my hands on my hips. "So, you were giving me a taste of my own medicine?"

"I still came."

I nodded my head. I didn't like what he had done, but I understood it. Besides, now wasn't the time to fight. Not in front of Jacob. "Mike, this is Jacob Black. Jacob, this is Mike."

"Hi," Jacob said rather shortly, but he still extended his hand toward Mike.

Mike shook Jacob's hand. "I"m Bekah's boyfriend," Mike told him.

"I've been friends with Bekah since we were in diapers," Jacob told Mike.

Ugh. Male one-upping. It was so annoying. Why couldn't they both understand they both had a place in my life. It really wasn't that hard of a concept. The boys finally came back to reality and looked at me. I glanced at Mike with a furrowed brow. "How did you get out of class?"

Mike shrugged. "I texted my dad. He called Mr. Mallory and I got permission to leave to come get you."

"Oh." It was rather sweet of him. He was known to be sweet every now and then. Okay, he was usually sweet, but still. I smiled at him. He seemed to loosen up. If we weren't standing in front of Jacob I would have kissed him. I chewed my lip. Ugh. I was becoming Bella.

There had to be some sort of compromise. Then it came to me. "Jake, thanks for jumping my car. I'm gonna ride to school with Mike. So can you leave my keys under the front mat?"

Jacob just nodded his head. He looked somewhat disappointed.

I took a step closer to him. "Seriously, thank you. Any baked good you want me to make: it's yours. I'll even personally deliver it."

He smiled a little and then nodded his head. "Some of those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey's kiss. What are those called?"

I shoved my hands in my pockets. "Peanut butter blossoms. They will be delivered in the next few days...although it might take a little longer if my dad eats them all...again."

Jacob laughed remembering how I had made some for his family at our Christmas gathering and my dad had eaten most of them before anyone even got one. He then popped the hood of my car. I turned to Mike. "I gotta go grab my backpack, I'll be right back."

For a moment, I thought he was going to lean in and kiss me in front of Jacob, but he must have thought better. For that I was thankful. And he had earned himself a kiss once we were no longer in Jake's view. Mike walked up the steps with me and opened the door for me as I went inside and grabbed my backpack.

As Mike and I walked back to his Jeep, I reached for his hand. He looked at me and smiled. When we were behind a tree, out of Jacob's view, I playfully pushed Mike against the tree. I stood on my tippy toes and pressed a kiss on his lips. "Thank you," I whispered.

"Are you?" he teased me. "If that's what you were telling me with that kiss, I might have missed it." He smirked at me. "You might have to try again, to make sure I get it."

I shook my head. "You're lucky I like kissing you." I kissed him once more and then pushed away. "And there's more of that for you after school. But first...we actually have to go to school."

He chuckled before he opened his Jeep door for me to get in. As I slipped into the vehicle, he walked around to the driver's side. I smiled at him as he buckled his seat belt. "What?" he asked. I just shook my head. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there was at least one person who likes me a little more than they liked Bella.


End file.
